“The project, codenamed “Dragonfly”, would represent an alarming capitulation by Google on human rights. The Chinese government extensively violates the rights to freedom of expression and privacy; by accommodating the Chinese authorities’ repression of dissent, Google would be actively participating in those violations for millions of internet users in China,” the letter reads.

News of the project broke after The Intercept obtained leaked documents showing Google’s plans for Dragonfly and revealing Pichai had met with Chinese government officials in December of 2017 to discuss the planned search engine.

The group demands Google not only rescinds its plans to launch the project, but that it also makes its position on censorship in China clear and discloses “what steps, if any, Google is taking to safeguard against human rights violations linked to Project Dragonfly and its other Chinese mobile app offerings.”

They also demand that Google guarantee protections for whistle-blowers within Google who speak out “where they see the company is failing its commitments to human rights.”

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